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Magna Carta
the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215
English Parliament
-Firmly established by the 14th century -Gained power at the expense of the king -Composed of the House of Lords (titled nobility) and the House of Commons (gentry and middle classes)
Manors
Large farm estates of the Middle Ages that were owned by nobles who ruled over the peasants living in the land
Manorial System
an economic system in the Middle Ages that was built around large estates called manors
three-field system
A rotational system for agriculture in which one field grows grain, one grows legumes, and one lies fallow. It gradually replaced two-field system in medieval Europe.
Feudalism
the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.
Serfs
People who gave their land to a lord and offered their servitude in return for protection from the lord.
Primogeniture
A system of inheritance in which the eldest son in a family received all of his father's land. The nobility remained powerful and owned land, while the 2nd and 3rd sons were forced to seek fortune elsewhere.
Burghers
A medieval merchant-class town dweller.
Estates General
An assembly of representatives from all three of the estates, or social classes, in France.
Otto I
10th century ruler who became emperor of the German states through close ties with the Catholic church
Crusades
A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.
Renaissance
"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome
Humanism
A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements
Lay Investiture Controversy
A disagreement between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII about who should appoint church officials.
Great Schism
the official split between the Roman Catholic and Byzantine churches that occurred in 1054
Antisemitism
hostility to or prejudice against Jews.
Little Ice Age
A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s. Its ill effects on agriculture in northern Europe were notable.
